As the need for program alignment between preschool and kindergarten becomes more of a priority, federal, state, and local policymakers can look to Head Start’s current transition partnerships as a guide. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

Most governments must juggle budgets and confront the fact that the world has fewer people of working age to support the swelling ranks of the elderly. Chamie analyzes the Potential Support Ratio, or PSR, and suggests the statistic could reveal more about the overall health of an economy than GDP or other common indicators. “The PSR has weighty implications for governments and businesses concerning the labor force, taxation, education, housing, production and consumption, retirement, pensions and health services,” Chamie writes. “The unprecedented shift towards a larger proportion of older persons and concomitant declines in workers is gradually and inexorably necessitating redesign of national economies.” [Note: contains copyrighted material].

The paper presents a peace plan for Syria focused on the steps to secure and sustain a ceasefire. It concludes that the external parties that have supported the combatants will need to come together to guarantee and enforce any such ceasefire. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

The world has reached consensus: Climate change is a serious threat, and each nation can play a role in reducing fossil fuel emissions. The Paris Agreement relies on a voluntary approach for developing policies for transitioning away from fossil fuels. “The biggest challenge with voluntary agreement to limit countries’ emissions is enforcement,” explains Barrett, referring to free riding and an unwillingness to sacrifice if other countries are not doing the same. “Unfortunately, the international system is particularly bad at enforcement.” The agreement is a start, and Barrett offers recommendations on the next steps.[Note: contains copyrighted material].

Employers value three types of skills, two of which are foundational: cognitive skills, such as functional literacy and numeracy, and socioemotional skills, such as self-discipline, perseverance, and the ability to work well with others.

But how are these different skills distributed among the working age population in Bulgaria? And what is the relationship between labor market outcomes and skills?

These particular questions are addressed in a new World Bank report, Skills for Work in Bulgaria: The Relationship between Cognitive and Socioemotional Skills and Labor Market Outcomes – a study based on data from the Bulgarian Longitudinal Inclusive Society Survey (BLISS) that was collected by the World Bank and the Open Society Institute–Sofia in the spring of 2013. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., the public’s concerns about terrorism have surged and positive ratings of the government’s handling of terrorism have plummeted. But other attitudes relating to terrorism and security, as well as perceptions of whether Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, have shown far less change. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

In recent years, major debates have emerged about the societal impact of video games and the effect they have on the people who play them. Among the disputes: whether men predominate in gaming and whether violent games promote aggressive behavior. A nearly identical share of men and women report ever playing video games (50% of men and 48% of women). Americans are relatively divided over whether there is a possible link between violent games and actual violence. A slight majority of the public (53%) disagree with the statement “people who play violent video games are more likely to be violent themselves.” But 40% agree that there is a relationship between video game violence and violent behavior. [Note: contains copyrighted material].